Sliding-door fastener.



No. 839,942 PATENTED JUNE 9, 190a.

J. w. MABIN.

smnme DOORzPASTENBR.

APPLICATION FILED 001. 4, 1907.

2 BHEETS-SHEET 1.

(112m Maw/6a v No. 889,942. PATENTED JUNE 9, 1908. J, WLMABIN.

SLIDING DOOR FASTENER- APPLIOATION rmzn 0011901.

TINTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. MABIN, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

SLIDING-DOOR FASTENER.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JOHN W. MABIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain. new and useful Improvements in Sliding-Door Fasteners, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to door fasteners, and more particularly to that class of fasteners adapted to be employed upon sliding doors, such as car doors.

The object of the invention is to provide a fastener of this character which will operate automatically to secure the door in its closed position; to provide means for preventing the bolt or keeper from being displaced by lateral movement of the door; to provide improved. means for opening the fastener to release the door; and to provide such a fastener which will be positive in its operation and which will be strong and durable.

WVith these objects in view my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in certain parts and combinations hereinafter to be described, and then more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved fastener, showing the same in its closed position; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same in its open position; Fig. 3 is a detail view of one of the jaws; Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the jaws and their actuating mechanism; and Fig. 5 is a detail view of the releasing device.

In these drawings I have illustrated my invention as mounted upon supports or blocks 1 and 2. The block 1, which carries the bolt or keeper 3, is adapted to be secured to the door, while the block 2, upon which are mounted the jaws 4, is mounted upon the frame of the structure or upon the other door Where the fastener is employed with double doors. But it will be obvious that the device can be readily mounted. directly upon the door or frame of the structure without the interposition of the supports or blocks here shown. The bolt or keeper 3 is firmly secured to the support 1 and extends for some distance beyond. the end of the same, where it is provided with a suitable head 5 adapted to extend between the jaws 4. These jaws may be of any suitable construction, but are preferably rectangular in cross section and Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 4, 1907. Serial No. 395,821.

Patented June 9, 1908.

are pivotally connected at their rear ends to the block 2, as shown at 6. The jaws are pro vided on their inner or adjacent faces with corresponding recesses 7 which are so constructed as to form a shoulder 8 adapted to be engaged by the head 5 of the keeper 3. The forward ends of the jaws are beveled outwardly from a point near the shoulder 8, as shown at 9, thus providing a flaring mouth adapted to receive the head 5 of the keeper and facilitate its entrancebetween the jaws. That portion of each jaw lying between the recess 7 and the beveled portion 9 is pro vided with a recess or groove 10, adapted to receive the shank of the keeper 3 and permit the jaws to close with the head of the keeper in the recess 7.

The recess 7 and the beveled portion 9 of each jaw are preferably formed 1n the inner face of the jaw, that is, the face lying adjacent to the corresponding face of the other jaw, and at a point removed from the front or outer edge of that face so as to leave the outer surface of the jaw intact, forming an overhanging flange or wall 11, which closes the outer ends of the recess and of the flared portion of the jaw, whereby when the jaws are in their closed position, the recesses 7 are completely closed and the flared portion 9 is open only at its forward end, thus preventing any outward movement of the keeper when the same is between the jaws and effectually preventing the accidental displacement thereof by the lateral movement of the door upon which it is mounted. Suitable springs are provided for retaining the jaws normally in their closed position. These springs are preferably of the construction herein shown, in which they comprise a spring 12 coiled about a pin or projection 13 secured to the outer side of each of the jaws and extending through an apertured lug 14 secured to the support at some distance from the jaw.

Any suitable means may be provided for moving the jaws away from one another to release the head 5 and permit the door to be opened, but I prefer the device herein shown which comprises a rod or shaft 15 extending transversely of the jaws and mounted in suitable bearings, which, in the present instance, consists of a transverse groove 16 formed in the support 2 and clips or plates 17 extending across the same and serving to retain the shaft in position. This shaft 15 is provided at a point between its ends and adjacent to the abutting surfaces of the two jaws with a projection 18 which is adapted to enter between the jaws and spread the same apart. This projection is preferably wedge-shape, as shown, and, in the present instance, is formed by bending the rod or shaft 15 upon itself to form a V-shaped projection. The jaws may, if desired, be slightly grooved, or cut away, as shown at 19, to facilitate the entrance of the projection 18 between the same. The shaft 15 is provided at one end with a suitable handle 20 for rotating the same about its longitudinal axis and causing the projection to engage the jaws, as described. A suitable guard is provided to prevent the lateral displacement of the jaws, and, in the present instance, con sists of a yoke or U-shaped rod 21 which extends over the jaws and is secured to the support 2 on the opposite sides of the same, the transverse portion of the yoke 21 being arran ed close to the outer surface of the jaws so that, while the jaws may move freely beneath the same, any outward or lateral movement thereof is prevented. It is also sometimes desirable to provide means for locking the jaws in their closed position, and, to this end, I have shown one of the jaws provided near its outer end with a pin 22 and the other jaw having an apertured part 23 adapted to receive the pin, which has an aperture 24 formed therein and adapted to lie beyond the apertured part when the jaws are in their closed position and to receive a suitable locking member, such as the sealing wire ordinarily used on freight cars. In the present instance, I have shown the pin 22 as supported from a lug 25 carried on one of the jaws and extending through an apertuerd lug on the other member. The pin may, if desired, be pivoted in the lug 25, as shown at 26, to permit the same to have a limited pivotal movement, whereby it will accommodate itself to the movement of the jaws.

The operation of the device will be obvious from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that I have provided a fastener for sliding doors which will operate automatically to secure the door when the same has been closed and which is so constructed that, when in its closed position, the keeper will be held against accidental displacement by any lateral or other abnormal movement of the door; and further, that I have provided improved means for separating the jaws one from the other to release the keeper and permit the door to be opened,- this releasing means being easy of operation and of a strong, durable nature, not liable to become disarranged or broken. I

. I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A door fastener of the character described comprising a pair of springepressed jaws having corresponding recesses in their adjacent faces, means carried by each of said jaws for closing the outer ends of said recesses, and a keeper adapted to extend between said jaws and enter said recesses.

2. A door fastener of the character described comprising a pair of spring-pressed jaws having their adjacent faces beveled at the forward ends thereof and provided with corresponding recesses in the rear of said beveled portions, flanges extending over the outer ends of said recesses and beyond the edges of said beveled portions, and a keeper adapted to extend between said jaws and enter said recesses. I

3. A door fastener of the character described comprising a pair of jaws having their adjacent faces cut away at points removed. from the outer edges of said faces to form beveled portions at the forward ends of said jaws and to form recesses in the rear of said beveled portions, and a keeper adapted to extend between said jaws and to enter said recesses.

4. In a door fastener of the character described, the combination, with a pair of spring-pressed jaws having corresponding recesses in the adjacent faces thereof, and a keeper adapted to extend between saidjaws and enter said recesses, of a shaft extending transversely to said jaws beneath the same and having a projection adapted to be moved between said jaws when said shaft is rotated.

5. In a door fastener of the character described, the combination, with a pair of spring-pressed jaws having corresponding recesses in the adjacent faces thereof, and a keeper adapted to extend between said jaws and enter said recesses, of a shaft mounted beneath said jaws, extending transversely thereof and having a wedge-shaped projection adapted to extend between said jaws and move them apart when said shaft is rotated.

6. In a door fastener of the character described, the combination, with a pair of spring-pressed jaws having corresponding recesses in the adjacent faces thereof, and a keeper adapted to extend between said jaws and enter said recesses, of a shaft extending transversely of said jaws and comprising a rod bent outwardly between its ends to form a projection adapted to extend between said jaws and move the same apart when said shaft is rotated.

7. A door fastener of the character described comprising a pair of spring-pressed jaws having corresponding recesses in the adjacent faces thereof, one of said jaws having an apertured part and the other jaw having a part provided with a locking Inemcesses, of a guard comprising a yoke adapted ber adapted to extend through said aperto extend over said jaws and to be secured to tured part, means for securing said locking the supporting member on opposite sides of member within said apertured part and a said jaws.

5 keeper adapted to enter said recesses. In testimony whereof, I am); my signa 15 8. In a door fastener of the character deture in presence of two witnesses. scribed, the combination, with a pair of JOHN W. MABIN. spring-pressed jaws having recesses in their Witnesses: adjacent faces, and a keeper adapted to eX- E. O. HAGAN,

10 tend between said jaws and enter said re- EDWARD L. REED. 

